Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Thoughts on the 380 or 38 vs a 9 for a very small lady ??

Partner had his wife out trying out a new G43, it intimidated her, a new shooter, and the brass kept hitting her in the face, I assume less strength, more flip before ejected. It went over her husbands head when shooting.

The slide was heavy to operate for her. She grew very tired with it, and I am thinking she would hit better with say a G42, 380 with 90gr loads, though not as confident personally in that round. I had a Walther PPK/S years ago in college, shot many handloads, had some lighter weight pills hitting 1100, but they were likely too hot.

How confident are you folks in the 380? I see the better ammo has about a 70% one shot record in actual SD shootings.

The other option, a J-frame Smith, or if there is a lightweight K-frame, using 38 +P loads with 110-125s or so.

Thoughts? I am not sure this lady will be confident or proficient with her G43, she is that petite.

65BR, Small(probably not great hand strength), seemingly inexperienced! I think that the Smith Chief(in one of the many configurations) would be a solid order. memtb

How about a S&W Model 10 or Model 15? Saw another nice Model 10-5 again today at a local pawnshop that could probably be had around $3-400.

Some food for thought.

I too think a .38spl wheel gun with Speer Gold Dot Short barrel loads would be a great option. I would avoid the flyweight wheel guns as recoil gets brutal.

A little harder to find is the S&W snubbie revolver in 9mm but they are a very nice ccw and recoil/muzzle flash is reduced.

380acp is better then nothing but in my opinion they shine best in super light guns which means snappy recoil and muzzle flash which can be intimidating to new shooters.

I've never quite understood why supposedly experienced "gun guys" always want to recommend tiny pocket guns for women and/or new shooters. We know little guns are the hardest to shoot well; most experienced men don't shoot them that well, much less inexperienced women with less hand strength.

Get the poor lady into something at least G19 sized, lots and lots of good options out there; she'll do better and will be more willing to practice with it.

G42. With modern loads, you can get satisfactory penetration (ten to twelve inches) along with good expansion. I'm thinking specifically of the Gold Dot load.

G19 would be a great choice.

I agree on your criticism of the frequent decision to match small ladies with small guns. Small guns like an LCP or a Chief's Special are indeed experts guns, very hard to shoot well. However, the Glock 42 is a special case, because it's actually pretty easy to shoot, unlike many small .380 ACPs.

ysfosyeab.

The “leap” psychologically in handling and firing a gun for some folks is fairly long and when you encounter these folks, you just have to move slowly.

Most women do chores around the house that require as much strength and dexterity as manipulating and firing a handgun, so it’s not a physical barrier even though it appears to be.

Most new shooters like this need some time shooting 22’s until they develop some confidence, then they can move on to guns that develop more recoil and noise.

I stole this from a poster on another forum years ago – his little shooter was quite proficient with the LCP and I think he was only 8 or 9 years old. I know his form is better than 95% of the adults I've trained.

The trigger pull on the small revolvers is not conducive to accuracy and the slide springs on the small pistols can make it hard to chamber a round. If you go 380 make sure she can rack the slide.

Yep, not bad at all. But then, for him, the LCP has about the proportions of a Glock 19 for an adult.

Have her try shooting a 317 Kit Gun in 22LR.




Dave

I agree with "Dave" on a lightweight .22, that said the DA trigger pull on S&W rimfire revolvers is the toughest of all to ensure that the rounds go off. Another she may want to try is the same gun from Ruger, the LCR. It comes in .22 LR, .22 Magnum, .327 Federal, 9mm, .38 Special and .357 Magnum. I have one in 9mm and the trigger pull is much lighter than a S&W of the same size.

Just went through this same thing with a female student (5' 95#) I taught to shoot in 2008. She contacted me as she wanted to get something larger than the Bauer .25 she had before moving to Florida. She tried a lot of different guns and ended up with a Glock 42 .380. Shooting the gun was not much of a problem for her but racking or locking back the slide without an empty magazine was problematic. One gun that I forgot to have her look at was a Beretta Tomcat. No racking the slide as the barrel pops up for loading. Not sure how she would have done with the DA first shot however. That said, they can be carried Cocked and Locked and as that is how her Bauer was always kept would have probably worked for her.

If this woman isn't planning on becoming a "shooter" keep her target distances short (under 10 yards) on full size silhouette targets. Her groups may be the size of a dinner plate but if they are all in the kill zone she will have a lot more confidence than demoralizing her at 25 yards on a bullseye target...

Bob

My wife just does not want to mess with a semi auto. She carries a three inch Model 60, in .38 Special. She uses the 125 grain Federal HydraShock bullets. It is more than enough.

It really "boils down" to how serious the lady is about learning. With the revolver it is merely "point and click"! Semi-autos require more training and expertise than some are willing to invest. Most encounters will be at near point blank range, so match accuracy is not that important. If the firearm is too large/heavy it probably be left at home or in auto when needed! 5 poorly placed shots are better than none. memtb

After a half dozen small handguns, I bought my Wife a Glock 42.

"We" tried; S&W air weight 38, Colt Mustang, Kal-Tec .380 etc. etc.

She is 5'3" 110 lbs. and 65 years old.

The little Glock goes "bang" with every pull of the trigger, and NO manual safety to worry about.


Works for her! Virgil B.

Either the Keltec .32 or Ruger Lcr.Course I'm not an "expert"

I don’t know if it is possible to unring the bell at this point. But, before I even start with a newbie, I explain that a gun makes noise and creates a flash, and that it is no more harmful to the person holding it than watching fireworks. People misinterpret that as being harmful, so the felt recoil is exaggerated by fear and perception. With somebody who already is spooked, I would start at the bottom and work back up. A .22 LR revolver or semi auto really is the way to go for now. The Ruger SR22 is not a bad semi that could pull double duty, maybe an LCR for a revolver person.

To clarify, this will be carried in her purse and car, size of the gun, I agree, too small is too light and too much kick/flip, but she has very small hands. Like Bob's student, this little lady is about 5ft and 95 wet, so she has little recoil tolerance. Willing and able to get range time.

Had her shooting at 10 yds but a regular large red bull....

I agree a bit closer (though that particular range 10 yds is the shortest distance.....

On the Gold Dot recommendation, I have seen that it in the 90gr is the top touted load in the 380. Not sure any test results I have seen in snubbie 38s do as well or better. I would have expected more. I personally think a 3 to 3.5" is where she needs to be for size of grip, weight to hold, and yet enough weight to moderate recoil/muzzle rise. Again the G42 was spitting brass in her face, not so with her husband who has much stronger grip/wrist/arm strength. He thinks she can just get used to the 9 in the 43, but I am not sure she will, the slide is tough for her to rack, I assume a 42 is easier, that is the one she wanted initially, he just wanted to standardize ammo and have the extra power....

On the 317, nifty little gun, just little confidence in 22, thought she shot a Buckmark Camper well for punching paper, she has the fundamentals, but it's easy how quickly the G43 frightened her with the flip, blast, and brass attack. Lol.

Appreciate all the post and welcome others. One gun size does not fit all as we know.

I do agree also on the simplicity of a revolver, or at least a no safety semi as a safety can get one in trouble when most needed, for SD. Assuming one can monitor access to non-owners. Safety is always top priority. Yes, racking the slide is key if an owner is able to work a semi start to finish, or reload if need be.

Thanks again folks. Others welcome as always.

Great answer.

Women can shoot large calibers handguns. I taught a woman who had never fired any gun using a P-229 with 180 grain factory ammo. She had it wired by her second mag.